Misdiagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension
Misdiagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension
A diagnosis of preeclampsia may be delayed or missed when a woman does not seek early and regular prenatal care. In addition, a woman with early preeclampsia often has no symptoms. Because preeclampsia can lead to serious complications, such as low birth weight, eclampsia and premature delivery, regular prenatal care is crucial....more about Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension »
Alternative diagnoses list for Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension:
For a diagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension:
Diseases for which Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Discussion of diagnosis/misdiagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension:
An
important distinction exists between the preeclampsia syndrome, recognized when
elevated blood pressure occurs for the first time during pregnancy, and
preexisting (chronic) hypertension. The two disorders, although both
characterized by high blood pressure, are strikingly different
pathophysiologically and have very different acute and long-range implications
for mother and infant. (Source: excerpt from REPORT of the WORKING GROUP on RESEARCH on HYPERTENSION DURING PREGNANCY: NHLBI)
Common Misdiagnoses and Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension
Metabolic syndrome often undiagnosed: Metabolic syndrome, also known as Syndrome X, is
an often overlooked medical condition that causes a cluster of chronic symptoms.
There are often four symptoms and conditions combined: obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure),
high cholesterol, and diabetes (Type 2 diabetes) or in come cases pre-diabetes initially.
See the introduction to metabolic syndrome.
Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases,
because it may cause only mild or even absent symptoms.
Although the most common symptoms are anal itch (or vaginal itch),
which are obvious in severe cases,
milder conditions may fail to be noticed in children.
In particular, it may interfere with the child's good night's sleep.
Threadworm is a condition to consider in children with symptoms such as bedwetting (enuresis),
difficulty sleeping, irritability, or other sleeping symptoms.
Visual inspection of the region can often see the threadworms, at night when they are active,
but they can also be missed this way, and multiple inspections can be warranted if worms are suspected.
See the introduction to threadworm.
Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss,
there are varying degrees of severity.
It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed heart attack, or from delaying too long
to call for emergency help.
The prognosis for treatment is far better for patients treated in the early stages of a heart attack.
The most common misdiagnoses include heartburn, or other less severe causes of chest pain.
See the introduction to heart attack and the symptoms of heart attack.
Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also
many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have something milder.
Some of the conditions which may be causes of chest pain, causing fear of a heart attack, including
an anxiety attack, heartburn, and so on.
See the causes of chest pain and the symptoms of heart attack.
Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder
called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women, but often fails to be correctly diagnosed.
Women with the condition tend to have heavy periods, since they actually have a bleeding disorder.
Severe afflictions may result in the women receiving a hysterectomy unnecessarily, when the
underlying cause has not been identified.
See the introduction to Von Willebrand's disease and bleeding disorder.
Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations
and rapid heartbeat.
In rare cases, this undiagnosed condition can be fatal.
It should be considered for any unexplained heart rhythm abnormality.
Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed,
leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed.
People become concerned that a condition is a heart attack,
whereas there are various less dangerous possibilities.
After all, there are numerous causes of chest pain.
Some of the common conditions where a person may become concerned
about a possible heart attack include a panic attack (which often has
both chest pain and difficulty breathing), and heartburn/reflux type conditions.
Nevertheless, chest pain itself can be a potentially life-threatening symptoms,
and needs immediate professional attention.
Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the
more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed
(it can, of course, also fail to be diagnosed with fatal effect).
One of the most common misdiagnosed is for children with mesenteric adenitis
to be misdiagnosed as appendicitis.
Fortunately, thus misdiagnosis is usually less serious than the reverse failure to diagnose appendicitis.
Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form
of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer.
Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue, such as with a breast rash
with redness and warmth, but not necessarily a physical breast lump.
This type of breast cancer should be considered as an uncommon possibility
for certain types of breast symptoms.
Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue
with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure.
The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can simply be too small to accurately
test a child's blood pressure.
This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a child with hypertension.
The problem even has a name unofficially: "small cuff syndrome".
See misdiagnosis of hypertension.
Over-diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension in obese patients: A diagnosis
of pulmonary hypertension, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension,
is often a misdiagnosis in obese patients.
Exertional dyspnea leads to a diagnostic reading of high right ventricular systolic pressure,
which seems to indicate pulmonary hypertension, but is ultimately found to be an
incorrect diagnosis.
See misdiagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.
Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be
correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients.
These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children.
See misdiagnosis of migraine or introduction to migraine.
Obesity-related conditions undiagnosed in children: A variety of conditions
are associated with obesity (see obesity), but these tend to be undiagnosed more often
in child patients than in adults.
Some of the overlooked conditions may include hypertension, diabetes, acanthosis nigricans, etc.
See misdiagnosis of obesity or introduction to obesity.
Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often
misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its misdiagnosis is even more likely in children.
Some of the symptoms of hypertension that can be overlooked include chest pain, headaches, abdominal pain, etc.
See symptoms of hypertension or misdiagnosis of hypertension.
Undiagnosed celiac disease in pregnancy harms fetus: The failure
to diagnose the common but less known digestive disease celiac disease (see symptoms of celiac disease)
is linked to adverse fetal outcomes.
See misdiagnosis of celiac disease.
Misdiagnosed weight-related causes of infertility: A woman's weight status
can affect her level of fertility.
Although obesity or overweight can in themselves reduce fertility, there are other
weight-related or associated medical conditions that further reduce fertility.
Some of these hidden causes include COPD, diabetes, thyroid disorders (overactive thyroid
or underactive thyroid) and metabolic syndrome.
See also other causes of infertility.
Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
- Chronic Major Diseases -- Rare Types:
- Women's Reproductive Health -- rare types of diseases:
- Women's General Health: rare types of diseases:
- Pregnancy: rare types of diseases:
- more rare diseases...»
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension
or confirming a diagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Pregnancy toxemia /hypertension.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
